Ensuring the success of the five-horsepower motor is not credited to a single individual.
The five-horsepower induction motor, completed in 1910, was Hitachi's first product. Hitachi documents state that it was designed and manufactured by Naozaburo Takao and others under the direction of Odaira. It is a machine used in mining, and its success lies in the specific work of designers and manufacturing sites.[2]
Unknown photographer/Scan: Abasa/ Wikimedia Commons ／ Public domain
The existing body also includes the original design drawings. The materials introducing the Cultural Affairs Council's evaluation explain the value of conveying the establishment of domestically produced electrical machinery, including drawings showing the structure of the machines. What remains are not only monumental objects. It also serves as a clue as to how it was created.[2]
If you pay attention to the drawings, the way you look at your founding will change. It's exciting to see a prototype work, but if you don't think about whether someone else can make the same machine, whether it can be repaired, or what will happen if you change the dimensions, you won't be able to achieve continuous supply.
There is a difference between individual skills and organizational skills. Even a machine that has been successfully adjusted and completed by a skilled worker is of great value. However, if the reasons for adjustments are not shared, quality may fluctuate as production increases. Recording, testing, and reviewing designs become the work of repeating success.
The more we envision Odaira's role, the more important it is to not erase the engineers around him. It is not the same achievement for a manager to set a direction and for an engineer to solve a problem. Looking at who made which decisions, we can see that domestic production was not a rallying cry, but rather a process of establishing a division of responsibility.
伝Interpreting YAMATO DENSHI
Turning a single success into a repeatable process.
We leave not only the finished product, but also drawings, test results, and reasons for changes. This is consideration for our successors, and it is also the basis for verifying quality. When talking about the founder's talent, it is important to focus on the mechanism that operates even in the absence of talent.